The invention relates generally to distributing a floor covering, and more particularly to a device and methods used to effectively, move, unroll and/or roll carpet rolls along a surface.
Laying, unrolling and/or installing carpet and/or floor coverings often requires large amounts of time and effort. This is especially true when large floor area is to be covered. For example, in preparing for conventions, certain athletic events and/or other social events, large amounts of carpet are often temporarily laid to cover gymnasium floors, convention center floors and other surfaces. Some known carpet rolls used in such circumstances can be up to 12 feet in length, can have a roll diameter of up to four feet and/or can weigh as much as 1000 pounds. As such, known methods for unrolling and/or laying such carpet rolls can include having a crew of up to four (or more) individuals manually exert a force (e.g., by pushing) on the carpet roll to unroll the carpet roll. Accordingly, large amounts of time and manpower are devoted to carpet laying.
Moreover, carpet laying and/or unrolling can be a significant cause of injuries to the crew. For example, because of the size and weight of the rolls of carpet, back injuries can be a common occurrence among individuals who roll and/or unroll carpet.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved apparatus and methods for distributing a floor covering, laying carpet and/or otherwise rolling a substantially cylindrical roll.